


I Remember

by Meginoi (Delirious99)



Category: Thomas Sanders
Genre: Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, this was supposed to be a oneshot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-07
Updated: 2017-11-08
Packaged: 2019-01-30 13:27:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12654456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Delirious99/pseuds/Meginoi
Summary: Virgil and Roman are destined to meet again through the years. But staying together is tougher than it seems.-----------“This can’t be our only chance! I’ll find you again, Virgil. I promise I will and a prince never breaks a promise!”





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally supposed to be a oneshot but it was getting long and i thought it would be best split into two chapters. It’s a Reincarnation AU that i just couldn’t get out of my head.

Prince Roman sprinted through the quickly crumbling castle, his heavy armour making it difficult to run. The pictures that hung on the walls had fallen to the floor in the chaos, the clatter of the frame hitting the stone floor quickly being drowned out as the sounds of the fight raging outside drifted through the open windows, even with the wooden shutters firmly closed. A feeling of dread rose with every violent shake of a cannonball that broke through the outer walls, sending him stumbling before he regained his balance and became even more determined to carry on down the hall.

 He desperately hoped that his journey wasn’t in vain, that Virgil had got his message, he just needed to see him one more time. He rounded the corner as another impact of a cannonball sent him stumbling into a nearby wall. His time was running out.

Roman rushed towards the door to his bedchamber and flung the door open, almost crying with relief as he saw Virgil standing there, looking around the room with fear as another cannonball sounded, closer this time. “Virgil, I’m so glad you came,” Roman gasped, trying to regain his breath.

“We need to get out of here, Roman. If we stay here much longer we’ll be killed,” Virgil cried, panic quickly intensifying every second they weren’t running for their lives. The other servants had left a long time ago, abandoning the castle long before the army of the enemy lord arrived. Virgil had never left thought, he couldn’t bear the thought of leaving his prince’s side, even when said prince begged him to.

“That’s why I asked you to come here. I needed to see you one more time,” Roman replied, voice dropping to a whisper.

“What do you mean?” Virgil asked, his tone dropping to match Roman’s.

“I can’t flee with you. I can’t let the knights fight for me while I run and hide. That’s not what a prince does. I need to fight alongside them,” Roman explained.

For a second, Virgil was rendered speechless. “You can’t go. We lost the second we realised we’re outnumbered. Going into that fight is a death sentence. I can’t lose you that way.”

“I’m sorry, my love, but I can’t just run. This may be goodbye but please don’t forget me,” Roman sighed, taking Virgil’s hand.

“Never, my prince,” Virgil replied as tears unknowingly started to slip down his cheeks. He leaned up and took Roman’s face in his hands, planting a soft kiss on Roman’s lips. Roman’s arms slipped around Virgil’s waist, pulling him closer, making the moment last for as long as possible before separating for what would likely be the last time.

The distant whistle of a cannonball reached Roman’s ears, making him frantically pull away from the embrace. His eyes widened as red-hot panic shot through him. The noise was too close, the cannonball was heading straight for them. “Get down!” he cried.

Virgil dropped, placing his hands over his head. Roman kneeled, taking Virgil into his arms in the hope he could somewhat protect him from the impact.

“Roman?” Virgil started as the whispering quickly grew closer. “I love y-“

But he never got to finish, both of them instantly seeing black as agonising pain shot through them.

\---------------------------------

The next time Virgil and Roman met was the height of the industrial revolution.

Virgil awoke, gasping for air. A thin sheen of sweat sat on his skin and the covers were tangled around his legs and clinging to his skin. The air in the room was unpleasantly cold, chilled by the temperature of a cold November day that seeped through the window panes and lack of a roaring fire that had burned into nothing more than ashes during the night.

Virgil sighed and slumped back against the pillows. The dreams had returned again. Dreams of a medieval castle and a prince that he knew he shouldn’t be attracted to but couldn’t help but feel a pull to anyway. Just when Virgil would start to forget about the dreams they’d return to bring it all back to him in glorious technicolour, to remind him that he’d lived through that, remind him that he needed to find Roman.

But that wasn’t his aim that night. He’d push the search to the back of his mind, go and see a play and get away from the pressures of his family. No matter what everyone thought, having a father that owned a workhouse wasn’t all fun and games. Sure, the money was good but it meant he was despised. What if Roman was in the workhouse? Would Roman really despise him for his father’s actions? Virgil already despised himself for not stopping the injustice himself, it wasn’t a big leap for Roman to despise him for it too.

Virgil hurried through the smog filled streets that were lined with cramped buildings to the theatre at the end of the road. It was a local gem, one he had never visited before and was excited to try out.

People gave him a wide berth as they passed him, his expensive suit and tell-tale crest stitched onto the fabric made him instantly recognisable as someone from a family that you shouldn’t piss off, lest you risk ending up in the workhouse. Virgil would never put do that to someone, but they didn’t believe that.

The theatre was crowded when he entered, forcing him to pick a seat on the back row to avoid getting recognised and causing a ruckus that could end badly. A hush soon fell over the crowd as the actors strutted onto the stage.

Virgil’s eyes widened, and his heart rate doubled as his gaze fell onto one of the actors. The actor looked the splitting image of the prince from his dreams, dreams that he should probably call memories. He had to be Roman, there could be no mistake about it. Virgil sat up slightly in his seat, determined to find the roman lookalike after the show.

As the actors took their final bow on stage, Virgil jumped out of his seat. Excited to get backstage and find the actor he hadn’t been able to take his eyes off. Laughter bounced and echoed off the shabby wooden interior as the actors laughed and drank together. Virgil squeezed and awkwardly pushed past people, the smell of alcohol soon becoming overbearing.

And then he saw him. The man who he thought was Roman, getting ready to head out into the cold evening. Virgil made his way over, hands slightly shaking. Conversations had never been his forte.

“E-excuse me,” he started, “are you-“

“Virgil?!”

“Roman?”

“Oh my gosh, it’s you!” Roman exclaimed, picking up and twirling Virgil round.

“You remember everything too?” Virgil asked.

“How could I forget about you?” Roman replied.

 Virgil blushed a deep shade of red at that. Had Roman always been that smooth or was it something he’d developed this time around? “I’m so glad I found you.”

“I am too. But Virgil you must let me apologise for what happened. You never would have been in the path of that cannonball had I not summoned you up there in the middle of that battle. I know how wrong I was now. Can you ever forgive me?”

Virgil glanced around worriedly. “Let’s talk outside, okay?”

Roman nodded, leading them to a side door where it was easy to slip out unnoticed.

 Virgil immediately turned to Roman. “You don’t need to apologise. I wouldn’t have been able to go on without you anyway. You saved us both the heartbreak.”

Roman’s eyes filled with tears. “How can I ever repay you for finding me?”

“Just kiss me you idiot,” Virgil smirked, stepping closer.

But their lips never had the chance to meet. As Roman stepped forward, ready to close the gap, Virgil’s eyes widened to the size of saucers and a small cry escaped his throat. Roman caught him as his legs gave way and Virgil’s body started to crumble towards the ground.

A small knife stuck out of his back, handle the only visible part. A small grubby man, small enough to be concealed by Virgil’s stature, had snuck up behind the two and plunged the knife into Virgil’s back, causing a wound that would be impossible to survive from. The man still stood there, looking proud of his achievement. “That’s what you get for your family putting people in the workhouse, kid. I hope you rot.”

Roman stared at him in horror. “How could you?!” he screamed as he cradled Virgil’s head in his lap.

The man shrugged. “He would have turned out just like his father,” and sauntered off into the night.

Virgil’s consciousness was quickly fading. His eyes looked dimmer than they had before, the light rapidly leaving them. “I-I’m sorry, Ro,” he whispered, tears rolling down his face.

“No, no, Virgil, you can’t leave me! I just found you again,” Roman cried, tightening his grip on Virgil.

“I think it’s too late,” Virgil rasped.

“This can’t be our only chance! I’ll find you again, Virgil. I promise I will and a prince never breaks a promise!”

Virgil smiled slightly at that, but it was too weak to see unless you we’re looking closely, which Roman was. He was remembering every detail of Virgil, a memory to keep him hoping until they met again.

“Goodbye princey.”

“Goodbye Virgil. I love you.”

“And I lo-“

But again, Virgil never got the chance to finish.

Roman let go, he cried until it felt like his lungs would give out. He sat in that dirty street and clung to his love’s body until the sunset arrived to announce a new day. As the sat there, he made a promise to himself, he’d find Virgil again, and next time…he wouldn’t let him go.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This got a lot longer than i expected! I’m not sure if i’m 100% happy with it but I've revised it so many times so i hope it’s okay. 
> 
> Warnings: Mentions of death, extreme homophobic language

It was the nineteen fifties when Virgil and Roman met again. It was a time of rock and roll. When going to the local dance hall and settling for what society deemed appropriate seemed like the ideal life. However, to stray outside of this ‘ideal life’ was exactly what Virgil wanted, specifically he wanted to find Roman.

The dreams carried on in their never changing pattern, only lengthened by the memories of their last encounter. He remembered Roman’s promise as though it were only yesterday, laying there as Roman comforted him while his blood spread across the ground in a grim pool around him. He wondered what Roman had done after he’d left, had he moved on? Or had he grieved until the end of his days? Virgil sorely hoped it wasn’t the latter.

And so, on his eighteenth birthday he had remembered everything once again, starting at the crumbling castle and ending in his murder in the eighteen hundreds. He had remembered Roman, and all the things he loved about him. Virgil held Roman to his promise, patiently waiting as the days flew by for his prince to jump back into his life, and stay this time.

But the day never came, weeks turned into months and months turned into years with no sign of Roman. Virgil’s hope started to dwindle from a bright flame to a flickering ember that never managed to fully go out.

Virgil still looked for Roman on the streets, hoping for that chance encounter that was never destined to happen.

That was when he took matters into his own hands. Virgil spent the months leading up to his twenty-first birthday looking for any record of Roman. It wasn’t an easy feat, the records he sorely needed were nearly impossible to find, but find them he did. He scoured the records looking for any Roman that might have a chance of being his while avoiding his mother’s questions about if he was ever going to get a girlfriend. Thinking back on that always made his emit a dry chuckle.

And then he found him. Roman lived two states way, they were so close! So, on his twenty first birthday he hopped on a bus and went to see Roman.

It was noon when he got to Roman’s address, the summer sun beating harshly down on him, causing a layer of sweat from both the heat and nerves to surface. He wrung his hands together nervously and made his way up the garden path and onto the front porch. Would Roman be happy to see him? Would he feel guilty? He didn’t want Roman to feel guilty for what happened, he couldn’t bear the thought of Roman carrying that feeling in his heart.

Virgil rang the doorbell and stood there, anxiously hopping from foot to foot. The minute that Roman took to answer the door felt like an eternity to Virgil. As the handle turned and Roman’s face appeared in the doorway, Virgil smiled. Seeing Roman’s face again made Virgil’s heart leap and his eyes brighten. “Hi, Ro,” he smiled.

“It’s you,” Roman exclaimed, looking extremely shocked.

“Yeah, it’s me. I missed you so much,” Virgil replied, taking a step closer to Roman.

Roman took a step backwards. “Stay back.”

“Roman, what’s wrong? You promised you’d find me again. So stop with the theatrics and let me in so I can kiss you senseless.”

“I thought you were some sick, deranged dream my head made up. I really hoped you were that,” Roman rambled, casting a panicked gaze at the floor. Roman drew his gaze back to Virgil, his eyes becoming cold. “I’m not gay and I don’t associate with fags. Now get off my property before I find my baseball bat and show you the only thing that a faggot like you is good for: a good beating.”

Virgil’s horror at Roman’s words shone in his eyes. Roman carried on fixing him with a cold, emotionless stare. Virgil stumbled back a few steps before taking off back down the path and towards the bus stop. Tears fell from his eyes as his heat filled with a grief so painful he’d never felt anything like it before. Sitting on that bus, staring out the window as golden fields flew past them his mind whirled and turned until it came to a decision. He’d forget all about Roman. The memories would mean nothing to him, in this life and the next.

Roman slammed the door shut with a loud bang, leaning against the back of the door and running his hands through his hair before letting his head fall forwards in defeat. Why did he do that to Virgil? How could he do that to Virgil? The one who he had loved and longed for ever since he’d remembered. He already knew the answer, the reason why he’d pushed all of those feelings down since they’d started coming to his attention: Fear. The fear of becoming one of those guys who got his head kicked in just for loving someone. Now it seemed he was the one doing the kicking. God he’d been so stupid, seeing Virgil on his doorstep had filled him with that fear. Virgil had been right into front of him and he’d lashed out like a scared animal, frightening away the only person he’d ever loved. He sighed, letting a few sobs escape. Next time, he’d find Virgil and prove his love. He couldn’t let them live out the rest of their lives with that being their last ever encounter, the next time he remembered would be an important one.

\---------------------------------------

Times changed before they met again. The society they knew was now almost entirely different, as if it had burned to the ground and rebuilt from the ashes.

Roman was eighteen when the dreams returned for the third time, his mistakes came rushing back to him in agonising detail, every word he said to Virgil that day felt like a knife plunging into his heart, twisting and causing waves of heartbreak to roll across his chest, leaving a dull pain in its wake. Roman woke with a racing heart and tears streaming down his face. He became determined to find Virgil, as he had done for Roman so long ago, he had to fix his mistake.

Except Virgil couldn’t be found. There were no traces of him, not that Roman could find anyway. It wasn’t possible that he could have come back without Virgil…was it?

And so, Roman’s hope slowly dwindled as he threw himself into his passion, giving up a secure future as a CEO of a successful company to focus on his career as a popular internet personality, much to his family’s dismay.

At the age of twenty-one, he packed up and moved to London, sharing a flat with his friend from university. Roman and his friend couldn’t have been more different, Logan thrived on logic and definitions when Roman flourished on make-believe and grand ideas. Logan kept Roman grounded, Roman showed Logan life is more than numbers and equations.

Life was good for the pair, until Patton walked into their lives, dragging a kicking and screaming Virgil along for the ride.

Virgil had been somewhat carefree and happy until the memories came back. The change happened practically overnight, waking up on his eighteenth birthday to find an heartbroken stranger who could easily turn miserable at the drop of a hat. He pushed all thoughts of the memories of Roman away, sticking to his promise of giving up any hope that he could finally be with Roman. Any flickering spark of hope would be snuffed out with a thought of the last word’s Roman spoke to him, the tirade that broke his heart.

The grief subsided to a dull ache as he let his writing overtake the grief. Bringing characters to life with paper and a pen had always been something he’d been drawn to, letting him forget about the world for a while. The memories were the catalyst that persuaded him to jump head first into his passion, making him a best-selling writer of multiple horror novels by the time he turned twenty-one. Helping him become the mysterious writer that sold millions of copies under a pen name.

His high school best friend, Patton, had been the one to convince him to hop on a plane and move around the world to London. Patton had been the one to bring Virgil out of his shell, sticking by his side on the nights where the memories felt compelled to remind him of what he’d lost and never get back. The night where he cried and clung to Patton and Roman’s words echoed through his head. Patton had been his guardian angel, never questioning him when he explained the memories, even though Virgil was sure he sounded crazy.

That was why the night Patton had burst through the door to their apartment, practically singing about this guy he’d been dating for a few weeks, Virgil had been hesitant. Was he losing Patton? Would this guy hurt him? If anyone hurt Patton he would find them an-

“Virge, you there?” Patton’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

“Sorry Pat, zoned out for a minute there.”

“So what do you think? Will you come and meet him?”

Virgil looked at him blankly. “Who?”

“Logan, silly!” Patton smiled.

“I don’t know, Pat. I mean, what if we don’t get on?”

“You will though! I know you will, kiddo and I’ll be there too.”

Virgil sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Fine. But only because I know you really care about him.

Patton grinned. “I really do. So we’ll go tomorrow?”

“Yeah, tomorrow,” Virgil agreed, unknowingly agreeing to turning his world upside down.

The next evening, as the sun turned a fiery shade of orange, Virgil and Patton braved the cold November winds to make their way through the crowded London streets to Logan’s apartment.

“Good evening, Patton and salutations Virgil, Patton has told me a lot about you.

Patton planted a quick kiss on Logan’s cheek as he entered the apartment, eyes brightening as Logan smiled and allowed his hand to find Patton’s. Virgil followed, removing his coat and admiring the way Logan and Patton seemed so comfortable around each other. A thought of Roman flashed through his mind, causing nostalgia to shoot through his chest.

They used to be like that.

He slightly shook his head, shaking away the thoughts.

Logan, Patton and Virgil quickly settled into a friendly conversation, lounging on the couch as the hour drew later and the sunset gave way to a dark sky that was dotted with stars. The city slowly lit up around them as artificial lights lit up streets and homes with a bright yellow glow.

Virgil quickly relaxed into their quiet conversation, listening as Patton gushed about how they met when he crashed into Logan when walking into a coffee shop, spilling Logan’s coffee over both of them. Patton had apologised, buying him a new coffee while slyly leaving his number on a napkin. Since then they had been inseparable.

Suddenly, a voice sounded from the stairs that made his blood run cold. “Logan, you didn’t tell me we were having guests over!”

Roman stood on the stairs, ecstatic at finally meeting Logan’s boyfriend and…“Virgil?”

Virgil stood, eyes widening as he stared at the figure on the stairs. “Roman?”

“It’s you, I finally found you!” Roman exclaimed, bounding down the stairs and rushing towards Virgil.

Virgil stepped back, throwing a hand out and stopping Roman from coming any closer.

“Virgil? What’s wrong?” Roman asked, smile morphing into a concerned frown.

“Don’t you remember what you did?” Virgil asked.

Roman looked to the floor, feeling guilt rise up. “I do, and I’ve regretted it ever since. I looked for you, I swear I did, but I could never find you. I thought I’d lost my chance.”

“How do you know you still have a chance?” Virgil responded, using all his willpower to not embrace Roman and forgive him for everything that had happened.

“I don’t and I wouldn’t blame you if you never wanted to see me again but you need to know that I regretted my words as soon as I shut that door. And I vowed to make it up to you when I saw you again, if I saw you again. And here you are. So I’m saying I’m so sorry for what I said to you but I never stopped loving you, no matter what I said. I know I don’t deserve it, but will you forgive me?” Tears were running down Roman’s face by the time he finished speaking, heart breaking as the thought that maybe Virgil wouldn’t forgive him flashed through his mind and sent a sharp sensation of grief through his chest.

Virgil stepped forward, standing toe to toe with Roman. He let his eyes run over Roman’s face, noticing the subtle differences a different era gave to him. His mind whirled and turned over Roman’s words as silence fell over the room, Roman, Patton and Logan waiting with baited breath for Virgil’s response.

Virgil reached out and took Roman’s hand, letting their fingers intertwine for the first time in over a hundred years. “I missed you so much,” he started, voice breaking as tears slipped down his cheeks, “I gave up on being with you, I thought you hated me. You broke my heart, Roman. But I can’t find it I my heart to walk away from you. I love you.”

Roman looked up, eyes shocked and hopeful. “You forgive me?”

Virgil couldn’t help the small smile that appeared. “Yeah, I forgive you.”

“Oh, this is a glorious day!” Roman exclaimed, picking up Virgil and spinning him around.

Virgil smirked, leaning up and pressing his lips to Roman’s. He wrapped his arms around Roman’s neck as the other’s arms snaked around his waist, pulling him close.

And for the first time in over a hundred years, Virgil felt content.

An awkward cough pulled them out of their reverie, drawing their attention to the fact that Patton and Logan were still sitting on the couch, now with blushes tinting both their faces.

“Do you want to explain what that was all about?” Logan asked, looking confused about what had just unfolded in front of him. Patton looked between the two, expression differing from Logan’s as he looked ecstatic that his friend had found the one he’d always wished for.

Roman and Virgil chuckled quietly as they sat next to each other, intertwining their fingers. Sure, it was going to seem like they were crazy and it would take a lot of convincing for Logan to ever believe something so illogical but neither of them minded if they could be together again. Both of them silently promising they were never going to let anything separate them ever again.

Because they finally found each other.

Because they remembered.


End file.
